1991 Plymouth Laser trans shifts hard down shifts even hard

ECLIPSD

MEMBER

1991 PLYMOUTH LASER

4 CYL

2WD

AUTOMATIC

130,000 MILES

I have a 1991 plymouth laser rs turbo. It has an automatic transmission(f4A33-1) the car shifts very crisp/hard and down shifts even harder. The shift from 2nd to 1st can be brutal and clunks. The fluid has been changed. For the first 5 miles it shifted perfect but then
back to the same thing. Please help

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Monday, February 8th, 2010 AT 7:42 PM

5 Replies

JACK42

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Could be a valve body issue. Is the check engine light on? Sometimes if the light is on, the trans will go into a"limp" mode which will affect shifting. Othersie you may want to have atrans shop look at it for you to see what they think. Have you replaced/checked the motor mounts? If the mounts are bad it can make the trans feel like it is shifting harder than it really is.

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Wednesday, February 10th, 2010 AT 7:38 AM

ECLIPSD

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Thank you for responding to my question.A transmission shop scanned for codes and they said they got nothing from it. They said to just buy a used transmission and swap out. I cant afford to do that right now Im trying to figure out the problem by blogs. The transmission looks shiny and new. I know that does not mean that it is but I think it could be something simple. What do you mean by valve body? How can I check this? Will check the motor mounts but the downshift to first can be violent and not normal it sometimes feels like it almost stops the car.

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Thursday, February 18th, 2010 AT 3:37 PM

JACK42

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In a 91, that will most likely be a valve body problem. You will need the proper pressure gauges to test the line pressures. The valve body is the part inside the trans that contains the hydraulic valves and any electric solenoids that make the trans work.I understand the money end of your situation, but I would call a few other trans shops and ask if they can actually diagnose it. They will have the proper tools for something like this